1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system, a print processing method, and a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printing system that has a client terminal, a server, and an image forming apparatus which are connected to each other through a network, and that performs printing at the image forming apparatus based on data that is stored in the server in accordance with a print execution request from the client terminal, a print processing method that is applied to the printing system, and a program for causing a computer to execute the print processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a printing system that is configured by information processing apparatuses and an image forming apparatus that are connected to each other through a network, print processing of documents or image data that are stored on the information processing apparatuses is executed by the image forming apparatus. More specifically, this print processing is performed by the information processing apparatus converting the documents or image data or the like into printer description language using an internal printer driver to create print data, and then sending the print data to the image forming apparatus through the network.
Recently, in an attempt to strengthen information security and reduce the cost for introducing a printing system, there has been a trend towards adopting a computer system based on a server (hereafter, referred to as “SBC system” (Server Based Computing System)) for printing systems.
In a printing system that adopts the SBC system, the management of documents or image data and installation or execution of application programs is not performed by each client (information processing apparatus), but is concentrated at the server. Further, each client is a thin client that has only resources such as a memory having a minimum storage capacity and, a hard disk, etc. Out of the information obtained by execution of processing at the server, each client receives from the server only the information that represents the difference between information that was already received and the information obtained by the processing.
A server used with this printing system is, for example, configured from a platform on which metaframes or the like are installed.
FIG. 25 is a view showing the conventional configuration of the SBC system.
In FIG. 25, in an SBC system 2500, a client terminal 1001 and a server 1003 are connected to each other through a network 1004. The client terminal 1001 comprises an input device 1001a such as a keyboard, a mouse or the like and a display 1001b. 
FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the procedure of basic processing to be executed by the client terminal 1001 in the SBC system 2500 illustrated in FIG. 25.
In FIG. 26, first the client terminal 1001 stands by until a user performs an input operation with respect to the input device 1001a such as the keyboard or mouse while referring to contents that are displayed on the display 1001b (NO at step S2001). Upon an input operation being performed (YES at step S2001), the client terminal 1001 sends an operation contents notification 1 (see FIG. 25) to the server 1003 via the network 1004 (step S2002), and waits for reception of a display image 2 (see FIG. 25) that is sent from the server 1003 (NO at step S2003). Upon receiving the display image 2 (YES at step S2003), the client terminal 1001 displays the display image 2 on the display 1001b (step S2004). The process then returns to step S2001.
FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the procedure of basic processing to be executed by the server 1003 in the SBC system 2500.
In FIG. 27, first the server 1003 waits for reception of the operation contents notification 1 that is sent from the client terminal 1001 through the network 1004 (NO at step S2101). Upon receiving the operation contents notification 1 (YES at step S2101), the server 1003 executes processing in accordance with the operation contents notification 1 (step S2102) to generate the display image 2 (step S2103). The display image 2 that is generated is sent to the client terminal 1001 through the network 1004 (step S2104). The process then returns to step S2101.
Further, the following system is already proposed as a printing system that uses an SBC system. FIG. 28 is a view showing a variation of the conventional configuration of an SBC system. This second configuration is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-297346.
In FIG. 28, in an SBC system 2800, a client terminal 1101 comprising a display 1101a and an input device 1101b, an image forming apparatus 1102 that performs print processing of print data that is sent, and a server 1103 that holds document or image data in a manner in which the data can be developed by an application program are connected to each other through a network 1104.
In response to an operation contents notification from the client terminal 1101, the server 1103 develops the documents or image data using an application program. The client terminal 1101 receives only a display image that is included in the documents or image data developed by the application program at the server 1103, and outputs the display image onto the display 1101a. 
In the SBC system 2800, when the client terminal 1101 is to cause the image forming apparatus 1102 to perform print processing, a printer driver is installed beforehand at the server 1103. Thus, when the client terminal 1101 logs in to the server 1103, the logical printer of the image forming apparatus 1102 to be used by the client terminal 1101 is automatically created at the server 1103 to enter a state in which printing is possible. In this case, when the client terminal 1101 sends a print execution notification la (see FIG. 28) to the server 1103, print data that was converted to printer description language by the printer driver is created on the server 1103, and the print data 2a (see FIG. 28) is sent to the image forming apparatus 1102 through the client terminal 1101 and printed.
However, according to the SBC system 2800 as described above, the load is concentrated at the server 1103 during print execution. More specifically, when there is a print execution notification from the client terminal 1101, the server 1103 not only runs an application program, develops the selected documents or image data, creates image data for display on the display 1101a, and sends the image data to the client terminal 1101, but also needs to perform conversion to printer description language and creation of print data at the time of print execution, and send the created print data to the image forming apparatus 1102 via the client terminal 1101. There is thus a problem that printing is not carried out smoothly.